Quality and problems in higher education on agenda of Lukashenko’s meeting with university rectors
Belarus has managed to maintain the continuity and quality of classical education, though there was a risk of rushing into reforms and experiments – as noted by the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, at today’s meeting with members of the Republican Council of Rectors of Higher Education Institutions
The Head of State noted that the country has not just identified a strategic priority for state development, but has made it a practice – creating all possible conditions for that: the material and technical base has been strengthened, laboratories and classrooms have been revamped, new complexes and dormitories continue to be built, and old premises are being reequipped.
The work is underway at the Belarusian State University, the Belarusian National Technical University, the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, and other institutions.
“Most importantly, we have preserved the continuity and quality of our classical education. There was a risk of rushing into reforms and experiments, and representatives of various foreign foundations were making serious attempts to involve us into the latter. That was being done for purpose,” the Head of State said.
As noted by the President, 30 thousand students from more than 100 countries are a good indicator for such a compact country as Belarus, and exports of educational services exceeded $90m in 2023.
The Head of State recalled that the country had done virtually the impossible to preserve scientific schools and competencies for training specialists with university diplomas in the 1990s, “We counted every penny and invested a lot of money in the sphere. As a result, the number of universities has grown from 33 to 50, and the number of students – 1.5-fold.”
At the same time, Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that not only the quantity, but also the quality matters. New universities welcomed students beyond the Belarusian capital as well: in Baranovichi (in 2004) and in Pinsk (in 2006). Accordingly, high education has become even closer and more accessible in every corner of the country, and that was done at a time when the economy was just beginning to recover after the financial collapse of the first years of independence.
“We have opened private universities in Baranovichi, Pinsk, and elsewhere, but the question is how many students are enrolled there – especially in Pinsk and Baranovichi. The governors were asking [for a permission] to open these universities to train specialists at the regional level, but what is the result?” Aleksandr Lukashenko wondered.
